Tranceformers: Shamans of the 21st Century
 by John Jay Harper
Book review by
Mark Stimpfle,
Department of Communications, Spokane Falls Community College, Washington

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            In some ways, this book is too good to be true: Despite its flirtations with paranormal phenomena, it emerges spiritually wondrous and thoroughly credible scientifically.

            Here is the background.

            In mid-fall 1987, John Jay Harper loses his best friend to a heart attack. He cannot make himself believe that his best friend and colleague for nearly two decades, George, is really dead. He begins speculating: what if his friend's soul is afoot, perhaps in another dimension where essence and energy never die? Is their a "fifth" dimension beyond the three of space and one of time? But he casts that off as merely wishful thinking; it is not logical, at least that is what he concluded initially.

            But then seven months later, George appears at the foot of Harper's bed in a luau shirt and a beachcomber's hat! Is it a trick of the mind? Is it a joke? Is it a message? Is it, perhaps, confirmation of man's immortality or an intimation thereof? Harper is not sure at first, other than he knows it was a genuine perception; it was not an hallucination brought on by alcohol, drugs, or illness.  

            For more than a decade, Harper struggles with these questions of life-after-death, embarking on the toughest emotional and intellectual journey of his life, a trying spiritual quest of careful reflection and methodical research in "abnormal physics and paranormal psychology," as he says. This headstrong but heartfelt effort would plunge Harper into the depths of despair and then lift him up to the heights of ecstasy over and over again for years.

            From a reader's perspective, Harper's trials and tribulations, his pain and suffering, was well worth it all; it produced an inspired synthesis of great notions by great people of all ages: scientists, philosophers, and psychologists. In Tranceformers: Harper offers a new kind of comfort and reassurance far from the simplistic optimism of New Age authors with whom he could unfortunately be lumped. His knowledge comes from a deep sense of "knowing," and that becomes obvious in the opening pages; it rings true.

            For his offering comes in an unorthodox package that commits the reader to a long, somewhat discursive exploration of physics and metaphysics. Heady stuff, indeed, but Harper never loses sight of his objective, never wanders too far from the catalyst for his brainwork: The essential understanding of the near-death experience as a shamanic initiation into the fifth dimension of cosmic consciousness.

            Throughout, Harper summons an astounding array of facts that lend credence to his seminal vision for mankind, and he brings the cherished writings of others to his side: Einstein, Rousseau, Newton, Jung, Freud, Krishnamurti, Tesla, Jesus. He also draws upon the rediscovered theories and beliefs of other long-gone but not forgotten civilizations such as the Mayans and Egyptians, and the schools of thought espoused by so-called Realists, and Transcendentalists, and Masons. In short, he has built on a solid academic foundation that spans many disciplines: anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, physics, psychology, biology, history, mathematics, and medicine to name but a few.

            Moreover, this is an easy-to-read, intelligent, honest, emotionally-freeing book not to be overlooked as Harper spews scientific theory and salutes spiritual teachings equally. He sees no contradiction between these two models of reality anymore. There is an irrepressible faith here in this book and a rare chance to find solace and peace in a time-of-trouble by reviewing the timeless truths gleaned from Harper's own communion with the "realm of the dead" and God.

            In summary, if you think, you are; and if you are, you will profit from thinking about Harper's illumination experience and the in-depth revelation of future world events he outlines clearly and forcefully. Harper views life as a master shaman should I imagine: He penetrates the dogma that can hold spiritual and scientific growth in check, looking towards the "end-time" shift of the ages where spirit and matter meet as two sides of the same coin of consciousness within the "zero-point field" of the fifth dimension.

 

If you are interested in buying this book, you can click on the following link or you can also get it through Amazon.com:  Buy It Now!